


101 First Kisses

by PokeChan



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, First Kiss, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Nerd Kurogane, Reincarnation, Slight Age Difference, Temporary Character Death, mute character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:22:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2420027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokeChan/pseuds/PokeChan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>True love can never be stopped. Souls will find each other across time, space, and all manner of obstacles in order to be united with the one they were meant for. Be it romance or friendship - love is love and it cannot be stopped. </p><p>((A collection of different KuroFai AUs. All warnings will be added to the main tags as well as listed in the A/N for the chapters they pertain to.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reincarnation

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be the only "canon!verse" story. Everything else is 100% AU and does not deal with the Kurogane and Fai we know and love. 
> 
> **Warnings:** technical/temporary character death

After everything is said and done Fai and Kurogane settle in Nihon, their wishes granted at long last. They build a home together and live out their lives happily enough (there's a war at one point and they lose good people, Kurogane's metal arm breaks and they never replace it, the children can never stay with them the way they would like). Kurogane grows old, bits of grey coloring the hairs at his temples and wrinkles and laugh lines are etched into his still handsome face. Fai does not change.

Kurogane lives impressively long and Fai thinks it is the magic that ran on his mother's side that made it possible for all that Kurogane could not use it. Kurogane is 132 when he finally passes, loved and remembered as a great warrior and a good man. He becomes something of a legend as Fai fades out of the lives of the townsfolk who remembered them. He still watches over Suwa, the province he and Kurogane spent so long rebuilding. The people still speak of both of them, stories of a proud dragon-like hero and the phoenix god that protected him and loved him. The tales are fanciful and exaggerated but, at the heart of it all, not untrue.

Fai is alone and not all at once. The little cottage he lives in is quaint, and he has filled it with precious items. Ginryuu rests proudly upon the small shine in the corner of Fai's home among the small handful of other trinkets - a hand painted tea pot covered in pretty pink flowers with a little kitty carefully inked onto the bottom as a way of signature, an artfully created hour glass filled with sands from the desert of another world, Hien. No people live with Fai, but he never feels alone.

People do happen by him, travelers and a few of the elderly from nearby Suwa who know of Fai's talent with potions to take away aches and pains. Fai becomes something of a story in his own right - the kindly forest spirit who aids those in need. He likes these stories, keeps them close to his heart and doesn't think about their contrast to the stories about him from his childhood years. 

Almost a hundred years have passed and Fai has changed, however slightly. Light wrinkles have appeared at the corners of his eyes and a few strands of silver hide among the gold of his hair. There is still much life in him though when he is called by a frantic young girl, her eyes wide with urgency as she begs him to come to the village. One of the women is having a child, but something is wrong and they fear neither will make it. Fai follows the girl into town, lugging along medicines and herbs.

The woman, pale and panting and trying so hard for the tiny life she is trying to create, is oddly family looking to Fai and if he'd had time to dwell on such a trivial thing he thinks he might have been able to place her. As it is, though, he is consumed with trying to save her and her child. Everyone but the nursemaids had been shooed out of the room long before his arrival. Even the father is not seen, though Fai has no doubt the worried footsteps and uneasy aura just outside the door belong to him. 

It takes hours and by the end of it Fai is covered in blood and the mother is exhausted and Fai regrets to tell her that she will bare no more children. But she and her son are alive and otherwise healthy. The nursemaids help Fai clean up a bit and finally they allow the father in and Fai all but drops the supplies in his hands in shock. The man before him looks so much like Kurogane it's painful. There are differences, of course. The nose is too long, the jaw a bit too wide, and his eyes are the wrong shape and shade of red. 

Fai is still so stunned, though, that he nearly misses the baby's name being given, the tired smiles of the parents forming around a handful of familiar syllables. "Our little Kurogane."

Fai sees a lot of the baby. The mother, who now Fai can recall from the single painting Kurogane had shown him, asks for him to be her physician. She is not nobility, but she offers to pay him well for his services. He agrees to look after her health and declines the family's opulent offers. He makes the trips monthly and is paid in gifts of rices and clothes and a handful of coins.

Kurogane grows fast, to no surprise. He had told Fai once that he had been a loud child (to which Fai had laughed and said he was also a loud adult) and Fai was seeing it now. The baby coos and babbles almost constantly, waving chubby arms around while his father dangles a toy in front of him. Fai always takes time to play with Kurogane when he visits. According to his parents Kurogane is never happier than when Fai is around. Fai wonders if Kurogane might remember him and does some reading about past lives.

By the time Kurogane is a toddler his parents have convinced Fai to move into their spacious house with them. He brings little more than his clothes and the shine, set up now in the corner of his bedroom. Fai becomes the family physician and somehow begins teaching Kurogane's mother small magicks. She is a dreamseer again in this life and the way she looks at him sometimes makes Fai think she knows. 

Kurogane is a very energetic child. He crawls everywhere, screeching happy nonsense and _climbing everything_. It's a little frustrating and worrisome, but mostly the child's tenacity is impressive. When he first starts speaking actual words in clumsy Nihongo it's almost too much for Fai's old heart. Kurogane is adorable with his rosey cheeks as his scrunches up his face and slowly makes his way through more difficult words. He's a sharp child for all that he lacks the patience to sit and learn all that he can.

Fai is completely unsurprised when a five year old Kurogane literally jumps at the chance to learn swordsmanship from his father. There's something endearing and melancholic about watching Kurogane's little hands clumsily grip a wooden sword as he listens attentively to his father's wisdom. Fai watches the pair and remembers another young boy with fire in his eyes take up a sword for the first time in a far away world that had not even been real.

Time passes and Kurogane grows from a round faced child to a stubborn teenager. He's sprouting like a weed and his limbs are gangling and thin and Fai wonders how those will ever grown into the strong arms he remembers so well. 

That is another thing, Fai thinks to himself. Yes, this boy is undoubtedly Kurogane and isn't reincarnation the cruelest joke? It is Kurogane, it's even the soul of his Kurogane, not some other from another world, but Fai has no idea how to handle it. He loves the man who he traveled with, who he watched grow old and buried. Fai loves him dearly and his memories of Kurogane are still clear in his mind. He also loves this Kurogane, the young happy face that runs amok around the house and smiles at him and asks him silly questions like why his hair is made of gold and if he thinks that Kurogane will be as tall as him when he's grown up. For now it's easy to keep them separate, to see the boy in front of him as almost a different person, someone young to guide and protect, but Fai knows the kind of man he is and he knows Kurogane will grow up and a part of him is sure love between them is inevitable.

Kurogane is fifteen when his mother admits that she's known what Fai's refused to say all these years. She hadn't known right away, but that first time Fai had returned to check on her health she'd realized. Fai asks her why she's bringing it up now of all times and she smiles at him, places a delicate hand on his cheek. "He asked me about you," she says and Fai's heart about beats out of his chest.

Once he knows it there it's painfully easy to spot the crush Kurogane is nursing towards Fai. When they'd first met they'd both been adults, broken and immature and involved in something far too complicated for them to have had a chance to woo each other in any sort of conventional sense. And even though Kurogane had never actually courted Fai the gestures this younger version of him makes were so very much the man Fai remembered. Small gifts are sometimes left in front of Fai's door, never presented to his face, and when Fai is around to observe Kurogane's training and practice he sees the young man stand a little taller and work a little harder. He shows off a bit, but his shyness keeps it from getting out of hand. 

There are never any others that Kurogane talks about outside of his small gang of friends from the town. He doesn't pine after the pretty girls or make eyes at the boys he rough houses with. He doesn't bring anyone home or ask for advice on how to make someone like you. Not to say that there are not callers _for_ Kurogane. There are several of the town girls who giggle around him and bat their eyelashes, a few brave ones who actually approach him. They're all turned down in the end and Fai feels a little bad for them. His father, who doesn't know what Fai and his mother do, asks Kurogane one night after dinner about it and Kurogane only says he already has someone in mind. His eyes stay focused stubbornly on the bowl of rice in front of him.

When Kurogane finally makes his move Fai's helpless to turn him down. He's nineteen and he's grown into a fine young man. He strong and brave and a tad foul tempered, he looks like his father but has his mother's eyes and nose and smile. He doesn't laugh often but when he does it's full and bright. He's not the man who rescued Fai from himself, he's not the father of those children so long ago passed, and he's not the orphan who lost everything in hellfire. He's kind and whole and when he stares at Ginryuu in his hands as if he's coming home Fai wonders how much he knows.

For a while Fai's convinced it's nothing, that the feelings Kurogane confesses to with a red face and a complete lack of eye contact are new and unrelated and he's okay with that. This Kurogane is different, yes, but Fai doesn't love him any less, because Kurogane is Kurogane. He's shocked, then, when Kurogane sits him down only days after his initial confession and begins to ask him questions.

He's no dreamseer and is still hopelessly without magic, but the children Kurogane talks about from his dreams are undoubtedly Sakura and Syaoran. He remembers Mokona and buildings too tall and made of metal. Mismatched half memories crowd his dreams and Kurogane tells them all to Fai. Old pain resurfaces when Kurogane admits to nightmares about a tower covered in shadow and snow and the lost screams of scared children.

Fai fills in most of the blanks. He tells Kurogane stories of his past life and watches as the young man's eyes widen in amazement. Kurogane understands that he is different from the man in Fai's stories, he doesn't expect Fai to treat him as if he is the other Kurogane.

"I'm me and he's him," Kurogane says with the same stubborn wisdom of the man Fai knew. "That doesn't make what I feel any less."

"No," Fai admits, smiling. "It doesn't. Nor does it make my feelings any less either."

Red eyes are wide when they have their first kiss. They soon close as a hands finds its way into Fai's silver and gold hair. He loves Kurogane and he always will, no matter time or place.


	2. Our Sisters Are Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chii and Tomoyo are friends and decide to introduce their big brothers to each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU prompt taken from [this list](http://authorkurikuri.tumblr.com/post/77213057746/au-ideas) on tumblr.
> 
>  **Warnings:** mute!Chii, slight age gap

Kurogane was familiar with the names of the gaggle of kids his little sister spent her time around like any good brother. There was Kinomoto Sakura who was a sweet girl, unlike her brother who Kurogane had class with and had him sometimes wondering how the two could be related. There was Li Syaoran, a good kid, fancied himself a tough guy though, but he was protective of Tomoyo and the other kids and had his heart in the right place so Kurogane liked him well enough. Then there was Chii, a bit of an air headed little girl who Kurogane suspected was a mute as he'd never heard the girl actually utter a word any of the handful of times he'd met her. They were good kids and Tomoyo loved hanging out with them, so Kurogane didn't mind at all.

Until one day Tomoyo decided he needed to play a more active role in _her_ social life.

"Onii-san! You have to go!!"

"I have work to do, brat."

"Do it later!"

"Tomoyo it's due on Monday! I can't do it later!"

"I thought you loved me!"

With a heavy sigh Kurogane turned away from his desk and looked at Tomoyo. The little fourth grader was pouting up at him with impossibly huge eyes that looked like they might start shedding tears any second. Thankfully, after a childhood of that face, he was mostly immune. "Look," he said. "I explained this - I'm busy. It's my last year of high school and if I don't pass these entrance exams I'm not getting into college."

Tiny hands settled on little hips as Tomoyo looked up at him. "It's one afternoon and everyone else is going!"

The kids had all won day passes the city's Natural History Museum and were excited to go. Kurogane hadn't given much thought about chaperons but he hadn't thought no one would be able to look after the little rascals. "I thought Touya was going? He's responsible enough." Probably.

"We each need our own adult."

"What about Touya's boyfriend? Yuki-something?"

"He's taking Syaoran-kun."

Shit. He was running out of scapegoats. "Chii has two older brothers," he tried.

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and climbed up into Kurogane's lap to pout at him at eye level. "Yuui-san is sick, that's why I'm asking you all of a sudden."

Kurogane groaned and leaned his head back. He was pretty much done with his essay he supposed, just the conclusion and some revision was left. He hadn't really gotten out of the house lately if you didn't count school activities. "There's a special about the possibility of interstellar travel and alien life," Tomoyo added, wiggling her eyebrows in a truly ridiculous manner. "Just think, onii-san, the possibility of _Vulcans_!"

Smirking he reached over and ruffled her hair. "Fine fine, I'll go. Get ready."

She flung her arms around Kurogane's neck and squeezed joyfully before cambering back down and dashing to her room. The whole house echoed with her excitement as she got dressed. Maybe he needed a day out more than he thought.

\--

He did not need this shit in his life. 

Didn't people have anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon? The line to get into the museum wrapped around half the block and it was comprised mostly of chattering children and their put upon looking guardians. A few college-aged people were sprinkled throughout the line that weren't attached to elementary kids, looking regretful and bored as the line inched forward. And while there was a nice breeze blowing the sun was far too bright for Kurogane's liking, making him feel as if he were baking. 

Theoretical Vulcans were not worth this torture. 

Kurogane and Tomoyo had shown up and met with Syaoran and Sakura and their chaperons. Kurogane wasn't sure if he was thankful or annoyed that Touya was too wrapped up in getting between Syaoran and Sakura while also still trying to pay attention to his boyfriend to talk to him. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, when a very loud, very cheerful voice called out to their group. Kurogane looked up in time to see a pair of blondes running across the street towards them, both waving their arms in excited greeting.

The little girl, Chii, beamed at everyone before grasping Tomoyo's hands and bouncing in place, clearly overjoyed to be there. The other blond, a tall man with messy hair the same shade of pale gold as Chii, bent down and greeted all the children first. When he turned and looked at the trio of high schoolers he stopped, blinked a few times, and then tapped Chii on the shoulder.

There was a flurry of hand motions that Kurogane vaguely recognized as sign language between Chii and her brother. He had no idea what they were saying but the children were giggling and Chii had definitely gestured at Kurogane at least twice. 

Kurogane looked over at Touya and pointed at the pair of blondes. "You understand any of this?"

"Not a bit," he shrugged and kept watching the exchange.

"Oi," Kurogane snapped. "It's rude to talk about people in front of their faces in a language they can't understand."

The brother smiled at him and finished what he was signing to Chii before holding out a hand to Kurogane. "Sorry about that," he said. "I'm used to being around people who know sign language. I didn't even think to translate. I'm Fai, by the way. I think you're the only one here I haven't met before."

Aside from his name Kurogane was sure everything that had come out of Fai's mouth was a load of bullshit. What he wanted to do was slap the other man's hand away and tell him to shove off, but they were here for the kids and causing a fuss just because he might have been the butt of some joke wasn't worth ruining Tomoyo's day.

He didn't shake Fai's hand but he nodded and introduced himself. "I'm Kurogane."

Fai withdrew his hand, seeming to not take offense to Kurogane's less than enthusiastic introduction. "Ah, so you're Tomoyo-chan's big brother! Nice to finally meet you!"

For the rest of the wait, which thankfully was not as long as Kurogane had feared, Fai went between chatting with the kids about this and that and trying fruitlessly to start a conversation with Kurogane for some reason. 

Once they were actually inside the museum all of Kurogane's attention, and the attention of the other three chaperons, was focused on keeping track of his charge. Tomoyo and the others darted excitedly from display to display, reading and chattering as they went. It was a good hour before they made it to one of the rooms designed to keep children occupied for ages. After double checking that she had her cellphone on her, Kurogane let Tomoyo run free in the large, gymnasium-like room with the other kids. She didn't have any interest in the space displays and he trusted her enough to stay out of trouble for a little while.

"Hey, Kuro-tan!" Fai called as Kurogane headed down the hall, following the signs that said "Interstellar Travel? Life on Other Planets? It's more likely than you think!" He ignored the nickname, which was only one in a long line of them Fai had called him today.

He wasn't too surprised that Fai was following him, Touya and Yukito had vanished very quickly and already he knew Fai wasn't the type to go off an do his own thing alone. Still, he had almost expected Fai to stay with the kids with the way he got on so well with them and his sister's obvious inability to speak for herself. Though, Chii was with the other three and the four kids were all very close to each other. Kurogane was sure they'd be fine.

Kurogane gave a grunt in response. He stole a glance at Fai, who had drawn even with him, and tried to puzzle the other guy out not for the first time that day. There was something about Fai that kept catching his attention and holding it and he could not figure out what it was. Normally, Kurogane had no problem letting people exist around him and not paying them much mind. Fai though... It was like Fai's very being demanded that Kurogane focus on him and Kurogane could not figure out why.

He also couldn't figure out why his face heated up every time they locked eyes or caught the other staring, even when he was the one catching Fai in the act. His stomach has started doing odd little flutters as well whenever Fai stood too close to him or they accidentally touched. It was strange and uncomfortable but somehow not all that unpleasant at the same time. 

"So," Fai said. "Where are we headed?"

"There's a special exhibit on space travel," Kurogane answered as they rounded a corner and started up a flight of stairs, still following the signs. "There is supposed to be a presentation in the theater about interplanetary travel and the likelihood of sustained life."

"Hyuu, does Kuro-pii really like that sort of thing?"

"What the hell was that sound you just made?" Kurogane asked, ignoring the question with the obvious answer. If he didn't have an interest in space travel he wouldn't be going to the presentation all about space travel.

Fai blinked a few times before realizing what Kurogane had been referring to. "Huh? Oh! Hyuu? I say that instead of whistling because I can't whistle."

"That's stupid."

There was no rebuttal from Fai, who either agreed with Kurogane or didn't feel the need to defend himself so he didn't bring it back up. "What about you?" he asked. "Are you interested in this stuff or are you just following me?"

"Well, to be honest, I never really thought about it, so you could say I'm a blank slate," Fai said, peering around at the replica space shuttles that were out for display. "It looks like there's another fifteen minutes until your presentation starts. Why don't you get me acquainted with the material?"

Fai's request surprised Kurogane, but it wasn't as if he had a problem talking to Fai about the displays and the basics of space travel. They walked to each replica shuttle and Kurogane would give a brief explanation and then wait for Fai to question him. For the most part, Kurogane could answer Fai's questions, and if he maybe used Star Trek as an example one or five times it got his point across. 

As they made their way around the exhibit Kurogane felt himself begin to feel less wary of Fai and more glad to have him around. He didn't really have other people to talk to about these sorts of things usually. Tomoyo was too young to understand a lot of it and she didn't really have any interest in it so Kurogane didn't bother her with it (in exchange she didn't go on to him about fashion trends). His parents were happy to listen but lacked the excitement he would have liked in return whenever news about a satellite or rover hit. Fai was attentive and actively took part in the conversation, asking questions and was already showing a special interest in how galaxies worked. 

Conversation was moving between them so easily that Kurogane almost missed being able to get into the theater. He grabbed Fai's hand and dashed towards the auditorium. There weren't many people there, there rarely were for these types of things, so Kurogane managed to get him and Fai good seats in the center of the room.

While they waited for the lights to dim and signal the beginning Fai turned to look at Kurogane. "You sure do know an impressive amount for a teenager still in high school."

"Oi, I'm eighteen and this stuff really interests me," he said defensively. Then the insinuation of Fai's works hit him. "And what do you mean by 'still in high school'? Aren't you in high school?"

Kurogane had never met Fai before but he'd just assumed he was the same age and want to a different school, which in hindsight was probably stupid because Chii went to school with Tomoyo and the others so Fai would have gone to Kurogane's. Fai didn't look much older than Kurogane, in fact he might even look younger with how tall Kurogane had grown recently. 

Rather than laugh and tease him like Kurogane expected Fai looked uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm actually in my third year of college," he said sheepishly. "Does that, uh, bother you?"

"No," he said truthfully. Fai's age didn't bother him at all, it wasn't like he was ten or fifteen years older than Kurogane and even then, what did his age have to do with anything?

He would have asked, but it was at that moment that the lights around them dimmed and all conversation was lost for the next thirty-odd minutes.

\--

The matter of Fai's age and what it had to do with how Kurogane felt didn't come back up. Once the presentation was over they'd managed to look at two more of the displays before Kurogane's phone buzzed with a text from Tomoyo announcing that everyone was hungry. They regrouped, collected the children, and headed to the food court. It was while everyone was munching on some over priced junk food and chatting, Fai's hands going between putting french fries in his mouth and signing at Chii that Kurogane remembered something.

"Hey, idiot," he said, reaching over to tug on a strand of hair. When Fai looked over at him, a single eyebrow raised in question, Kurogane asked "What were you saying to your sister when you first showed up today. She kept pointing at me, so I know it was about me."

Again, he expected Fai to laugh or joke but instead the blond turned a fetching shade of red and looked away, hands flitting nervously in front of him, like a visual of him gathering his thoughts. 

Across the table he seemed to have gotten Touya's attention. "Yeah, what were you saying? The kids won't tell us."

All around them the children burst into giggles while Fai only flustered further. "I was - uhh, I just..." Fai had a few more false starts before he finally blurted it out in a mushed up rush. "I was just telling her that she should have warned me that Kuro-sama was hot because I wasn't expecting it!"

Something in Kurogane's brain short-circuited as he stared at Fai, who was very much avoiding eye contact by looking at anything that wasn't someone at the table, especially Kurogane. 

There were plenty of things he could have said in response to Fai's confession. Things like telling him he thought Fai was attractive as well or grousing about how that wasn't his sister's job or that he should have said that to Kurogane on his own. Any number of things, but for some reason none of them came out of his mouth.

What did come out was "Is that why you asked if your age bothered me?"

"He what?" Yukito said as Touya leaned over the table a bit more, eyeing Fai and Kurogane both with way too much amusement. 

Fai ignored them in favor a looking at Kurogane, seemingly dumbfounded. "Why else would I ask?"

"That's what I was trying to figure out!" Kurogane blurted, feeling his face heat up. "I didn't know you were interested in me! How would I if you hadn't actually said anything?"

"Huh, Tomoyo-chan had said you were perceptive," Fai said as if he'd been lied to and was disappointed about it.

With a glare at his imp of a sister Kurogane crossed his arms and turned away from the table. "I'm not going to assume things. And if someone's interested it's their job to say so."

There was a bit more back and forth between the older members of the group while the children busied themselves with eating everything on the table that was left unguarded during the exchange.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly and far less awkwardly than Kurogane would have guessed. Now that he knew to look for it, it was obvious that Fai had been sneaking glances at him the whole day and either Kurogane had _really_ not been paying attention or Fai had gotten _much_ worse at being subtle now that the cat was out of the bag so to speak. 

It wasn't like Kurogane wasn't interested in Fai as well, especially after their conversations back at the space exhibits. Kurogane could easily see potential between the two of them and, to be honest, if Fai had hit on him earlier Kurogane would have flat out refused. Because, sure, Fai was very attractive looking, but it took more than a pretty face to capture his attention romantically. That delay they'd had before seemed to be working in Fai's favor.

Now all he needed was to figure out what to do next. He wondered if asking for Fai's number was too forward. After all, he'd said he thought Kurogane was hot, not that he wanted to go to dinner and a movie with him. If he didn't say anything though he might make it seem like he wasn't interested at all and miss his chance. He'd never been very good at things like this and he cursed himself and Tomoyo both for him not being better prepared. He had no proof but he was sure she'd planned this somehow.

All too soon it was time for everyone to head home and Kurogane had yet to decide on a course of action. What was worse was that Fai was currently talking on his phone, completely engrossed in the conversation as he took Chii's hand and started off towards what he assumed was home. Kurogane supposed he could always find a way to meet up with him again through the kids. Chii and Tomoyo hung out a lot, all Kurogane needed to do was tag along.

Fai and Chii hadn't gotten more than a few steps away from the group though when he stopped, motioned for Chii to stay put, and turned back towards them all. "Almost forgot!" was Kurogane's only warning before Fai pressed his lips cheerily against the corner of Kurogane's mouth. He quickly dashed off with his sister in tow and still on the phone without another word as Kurogane just stared after them.

Not five minutes later as Kurogane, still a bit dumbfounded, was walking back home his phone buzzed and a text message from a strange number popped up on his screen. 

_got ur # from tomo-chan!! we should do this again w/o the kids. fri nite good 4 u?? :*_

Doing his best, and clearly failing if Tomoyo's smile was anything to go by, to keep his features schooled Kurogane typed back a replay before saving Fai's number in his contacts.

_pick me up at seven._


	3. Halloween AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sexy Cop Kurogane is forced to attend the company Halloween party by his cousin Tomoyo where's he's hit on my a very pretty kitty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween AU prompt from [headcanon!Anon](http://pokethetriforce.tumblr.com/tagged/headcanon!anon) on my tumblr. 
> 
> **Warnings:** alcohol, sex implied, semi-public sex implied

Kurogane was related to demons. Between his Aunt Yuuko on his father’s side and his Aunt Sonomi on his mother’s side he wondered how his parents hadn’t turned out completely twisted themselves. The worst of them, though, had to be his cousin Tomoyo. She was devious and ruthless and what made it worse was that she was adorable and angel faced. A deadly combination.

She was also how he’d wound up at the company Halloween party that he had had every intention of avoiding dressed in a highly inaccurate and form fitting police officer outfit. He didn’t know where she’d gotten it - or more accurately where she’d gotten his measurements to make it - but it had fit exactly as intended and she’d given him That Look. So here he was, at some stupid mixer for the Daidouji Company at the company's HQ, being forced to socialize with coworkers who were practically strangers in strange outfits. 

It wasn’t all bad, he supposed. The bartender knew that he was Sonomi’s nephew so his drinks had not only been free but they were also potent. He was four drinks in and nursing a fifth as he watched the crowd mill about. He could see the dance floor from where he was and watched the mass of people, each a different level of inebriated, moving with the music. It looked like utter chaos. He took a slow sip of his drink and settled back against the bar. He didn’t want to get properly drunk, not in public, but he was feeling pleasantly warm and less likely to gut someone who was trying to get a little too friendly.

Speaking of which…

"Hyuu~ Is someone drinking on the job?" a man in a catsuit - a literally, practically painted on catsuit - asked him before ordering some sort of stupidly named fruity drink. Kurogane only snorted in response. "Ahh, Mr. Officer is the strong, silent type I see."

He rolled his eyes. “Oh, cut it out,” he said. “I don’t enjoy playing pretend.”

The catman laughed and took up a seat next to Kurogane at the bar. “Aw, no fun! I was hoping I could get you to arrest me,” the man cooed through a smirk before starting on his drink. Kurogane could smell the fruity scent of it from where he was sitting. He took another long sip of his own drink and gave the catman next to him a long look.

He was blond and his hair fell down his neck in a way that was clearly meant to be artfully disheveled but had slowly worked towards frazzled in the heavy air of the ballroom. He was wearing a bedazzled mask, complete with a shimmery pink nose and whiskers and a headband with cat ears that looked cheap and probably bought last minute. He could see a fluffy, black tail dangling, the tip about even with the man’s knees. The guy was slender and tall, less than a full head shorter than Kurogane's towering hieght and a pair of blue eyes seemed to be sizing him up behind the mask that hid more than half his face.

Normally, Kurogane would ignore the guy and walk away, but the night so far had been dull and something about the glint in the eyes behind the mask had Kurogane raising an eyebrow. “Arrest you?”

The catman shrugged. “Figured it’d be the easiest way to get you to put those handcuffs on me,” he said smoothly and Kurogane felt heat creeping up his neck and into his cheeks as images flashed in his mind’s eye without his invitation. “Then you could take me out to your car or down to the ‘station’ for a bit of interrogation.”

This whole conversation was ridiculous, the catman had even used finger quotes. Still, he had Kurogane’s attention for now. He was seriously considering making a run for it before he made an idiot of himself though. He was no demure virgin, but to call him experienced was going a bit far, not to mention how awkward and stiff he was around people in everyday life, let alone when they were brazenly hitting on him.

Floundering for something to say Kurogane blurted out “So, what’s you’re name?”

The man beside him laughed again and smiled up at him. “I’m Fai Flourite, I work in the legal department. Yourself?”

It took Kurogane a few seconds to ever register that the man - Fai - had asked for his name because when he’d introduced himself he’d lifted the cat mask off and _fuck_ was he attractive. Without the mask Fai’s eyes were so much bluer and wider than Kurogane had thought. His cheeks were also tinged a little pink from the drink and, Kurogane hoped, a bit of bashfulness at his own boldness. Kurogane knew when he was in trouble and as he stumbled over his own introduction he was very much in trouble. “Kurogane, head of security.”

A smile as slick as oil curled its way across Fai’s face as he stood up and gestured over to an empty table. “Nice to meet you, Kuro-cop. Care to join me for a chat since interrogation seems to be off the table?”

"For now." And Kurogane wasn’t sure himself if he was referring to the chat or the interrogation.

—

Turned out, not only was Fai unfairly attractive but he was also smart as a whip and, though annoying at times, funny and subtly charming. Which was probably how, after a solid hour and a half of conversation and now completely sobered up, Kurogane found himself leading Fai through the empty hallways towards his office, easily locking the door behind him as Fai crowded him up against the door, mask and car ears already forgotten on the floor, and pressed their lips together in a rushed and heated kiss.

—

"Are you actually gonna call me or are you just saying that to get me off your back, Kuro-chan?" Fai asked as he handed Kurogane his phone back after putting his number in it.

"Of course I am," he groused. "I’m not one for one night stands. If I didn’t actually like you I wouldn’t have dragged you back here in the first place."

Fai looked surprised but it passed quickly and he was suddenly smiling up at Kurogane, very much in the taller man’s space. “Well, now I know where your office is so I’ll be about to come find you if you ignore me.”

With a snort Kurogane dipped his head and caught Fai’s lips for another kiss. Yeah, he could definitely get used to this. “Good luck, I’m hardly ever in here.”

Fai laughed again and waved goodbye, heading away from the party while Kurogane made his way back, hoping to hunt down Tomoyo and go home. He needed a shower and some peace and quiet to think about what had just happened. He found her talking happily with the bartender who had been serving Kurogane all night. When she saw him her face lit up and she pranced over to him and he felt his stomach drop.

He was related to demons, he reminded himself, and Tomoyo was the worst of the lot. 

"Have a nice night?" she crooned knowingly, linking their arms and steering them out of the ballroom and towards the front doors. "Find something to entertain yourself with?"

It wasn’t even worth trying to denying it. He knew that look Tomoyo was giving him. “How did you know?”

"Fai-san’s had a crush on you for weeks now," she said matter-of-factly. "And then I saw the two of you talking and leaving together. It doesn’t take a genius, Kurogane."

Wait… “Did you set me up!?” He had thought Tomoyo had been oddly insistent on him coming to the Halloween party. Her emphasis on him looking good wasn’t out of character, but in hindsight it had been another clue he’d missed towards him being played like a fiddle.

She waved him off as they waited for his car to be pulled up from valet. “I only made sure you were here, you both did the rest all on your own.”

Evil. His relatives were evil and Kurogane was beginning to think he might not get away from it, even in his love life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A version of this with actual sex will be posted as it's own story within the next few days here on AO3 so keep an eye out.


	4. Oops, Not Straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fai's been straight his whole life, or at least that's what he thought until Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome bought him a drink one night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a while ago I was talking about how I wanted to flip the “manly man falls for pretty boy and discovers his “exception”/that he is gay even though narrative-wise he should be bi if anything” trope on its head. Well... //jazzhands

Half past four in the morning and Yuui’s phone is blaring “Just the Two of Us” instead of his customary alarm tone, meaning that Fai wants to talk, probably about something that happened to him last night while out at which ever club he’d decided to grace with his presence. With a mighty sigh Yuui picks up and hits the speaker button, dropping the phone on his chest while he tries to clear the sleep from his eyes.

The life of a baker is a hard one.

“Yuui? Are you there?” Fai’s voice calls into the still dark room. “I really need to talk to you.”

“I know,” Yuui says, a little more awake at the worry threading through Fai’s voice. He probably wasn’t hurt, but something must have happened last night. “You wouldn’t but up at this hour if you could wait. What’s wrong?”

“Do I strike you as gay?”

It is too early for this, Yuui thinks to himself, rubbing a hand down his face. “What does that even mean, Fai?”

“I don’t know how to make that clearer.”

Yuui sits up and carries the phone into the bathroom to start getting ready. “You like women, right?” Yuui says as he pulls his bedraggled hair back. “So you’re not gay, unless you’ve been telling a very convincing lie our whole lives, which, I mean, if that’s the case is totally okay.”

He can practically hear Fai rolling his eyes. “Yes, I like women, Yuui. Very big fan of ladies.” And doesn’t Yuui know it. He refused to dorm with Fai after their first semester. He liked sleeping in his own bed whenever he pleased too much. “But... you know...”

“Know what?” Yuui asked around his tooth brush.

There’s a heavy sigh from Fai and Yuui gets ready to listen to what’s sure to be a hell of a story. “So, I went out last night, Caldina-chan invited a bunch of us and everything was going great, dancing, drinking, all that good stuff, but then one of her friends brought one of _their_ friends and, Yuui, I swear to god my mouth _watered_ when I saw this guy.”

Oh dear god, Fai really is having a gay crisis.

“His name is Kurogane and he’s got to be the hottest creature I’ve ever seen,” Fai says, his voice pitching higher. “He’s taller than I am and made of nothing but muscle and his eyes are insanely beautiful, like, wow. And I must have made a face because Caldina-chan leaned over and told me he was single! Yuui he bought me a drink and he’s intelligent and funny in that dry way that you know I find hilarious!”

“Easy, Fai,” Yuui says, putting him back on speaker phone and pulling on his shirt. “Did you give him your number?”

“No!” Fai whines and he sounds regretful. “Caldina-chan gave me his, though.”

“Okay, do you wanna call him and ask him out?” Yuui wasn’t someone who knew a whole lot about sexuality, not really having any interest in the subject at all himself, but he knew what his brother sounded like when he had himself a target.

“But I’m not gay!” Fai says and Yuui honestly does feel bad about how distressed and confused he sounds. “What do I do?”

“I guess you should do some research on sexuality, shouldn’t you?”

\--

Five in the morning is not a good time to do anything but sleep, his brother’s questionable choice in careers aside. Comforted by the idea of getting answers after a few hours of shut eye Fai heads to bed, which would turn out to be the biggest mistake he’s made in weeks.

It is unlike him to stay up so late, even after a night out. It is also unlike him to set alarms, his natural rhythm is usually enough to have him moving when he needs to. When he wakes up to afternoon sunshine and the clock reading a horrifying 2:49PM he makes the immediate executive decision to brush his teeth, grab some gum and cologne and hope no one he meets at work recognizes his clothing as last night’s outfit.

For all of his rushing, Fai is still a solid fifteen minutes late clocking in for his shift and not even his work apron can hide the condemning evidence from Caldina, who raises a judgmental eyebrow at him. “Rough night?” she asks and her tone isn’t as disapproving as her perfectly plucked brow. 

Smiling like the sun shines, Fai shrugs and snatches up a washrag to wipe off the counter. “Just a long one,” he says. “I had to stay up and call my brother this morning when he woke up.”

Caldina laughs and elbows him playfully. “Had to let your bro know about the tall drink of water you spent all night eyeing up?”

Fai’s face is red and he clears his throat. “I-I wouldn’t say I was eyeing him up, per say.” It was more like he’d been eye fucking him if anything. Fai is a man who is very self aware, and he is aware of what a spectacle he’d nearly made of himself last night. It’s no wonder why Caldina was the one who gave him Kurogane’s number. 

“Have you called him yet?” Caldina asks, stooping down below the bar counter to start taking stock of their precious merchandise. “I gotta tell you, Kurogane’s quite a catch,” she says. “I’d say he won’t be on the market long, but he’s pretty picky about the guys he dates and he seemed pretty interested in you. I still wouldn’t wait around though. I’m not super close to him but I know he’s not a fan of the playing hard to get game.”

Fai frowns and puts a hand on his hip. “What makes you think I’m in to men?”

Caldina looks up at him through her bangs, considering. “You are, aren’t you? I saw how you looked at him, there’s no way I read that wrong. Did I?”

She sounds so honestly apologetic Fai can’t even pretend to be cross with her. “No,” he admits. “At least, I don’t think you did.” She settles him with a curious look and Fai elaborates. “Well, until meeting Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome I was pretty sure I was straight.”

There isn’t even an attempt at covering up the giggles that bubble up out of her. “To be fair, Kurogane is one fine specimen.”

It sounds like there should be more after that statement, but the bar had opened before Fai had gotten there and customers were starting to show up.

His shift goes by in a blur, pouring drinks here, handing out bar snacks there. He knows he’s on auto pilot but he’s practically a professional at this point and none of his customers can tell his mind is in a far off place, thinking about a handsome face and wondering what time the library opens. He clocks out at a quarter to two with a pocket full of ones and spare change and a plan.

Tomorrow is Monday and Fai’s day off. He’s going to wake up, get himself some breakfast at Yuui’s bakery, and head right on over to the library to do that research his brother had suggested. The more he thinks about it the better the idea seems. He’ll hopefully get some answers, maybe even learn something new. He thinks that either way, he’ll probably text Kurogane. It feels wrong to leave the guy hanging.

The next day everything had been going according to plan. After an early night Fai’s up before noon and leaning on Yuui’s counter, smiling with a mouth full of whatever pastry Yuui’s shoved at him an hour later. When he gets to the library it’s blissfully empty. It doesn’t take him terribly long to find a book titled “Sexualities Beyond the Rainbow”. Things only start heading south when he bumps into someone, dropping his book in a fumble that has to look embarrassing, as he looks for a quiet, private corner to do some reading in.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Fai says. “I wasn’t looking-”

He stops speaking and just stares because the person he’s quite literally run in to is none other than Kurogane. And on top of that it’s none other than Kurogane in a crisp looking, violet button up and a pair of wire rimmed reading glasses and Fai is definitely not straight if those two things have got him thinking about finding a desk and a soundproof room. His voice seems to have abandoned him so he waves and tries for a smile.

“Hey,” Kurogane says, arching one unfairly attractive eyebrow and at least having the decency to look a little surprised. “Uh, you dropped,” he leans down to pick up Fai’s book and he can tell the moment that Kurogane’s read the cover because there’s a huff of breath that Fai hopes is amused in a harmless sort of way. He gives the book a little shake as he stands back up. “This.”

Fai puts his hand out for the book but Kurogane doesn’t hand it over. His face feels warm and Fai knows he’s probably blushing but if he turns and bolts it’ll only make things worse. He meets Kurogane’s eyes and is surprised to see what looks like sympathy. “Can I have the book back? I haven’t read it yet.”

Kurogane rolls his eyes and puts the book on the cart next to him. He’s not wearing a name tag like the other librarians but it’s pretty clear that he’s putting away a sizable stack of books and not just wandering the isles looking like something out of a hot for teacher fantasy. “You don’t wanna read that one, the title seems promising but the guy who wrote it believes in conversion therapy.”

“Yikes,” Fai says because he might not know much, but he knows about that. “Uh, do you have any suggestions?”

Kurogane considers him for a few moments then shrugs, turning back to his cart of books. “Depends on what you’re trying to find out. Like right now, I’m wondering if I bought a drink for a straight guy the other night.”

“Yeah,” Fai says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Me too.”

Kurogane chuckles and shakes his head. “I could suggest a few books, but the best way to figure your sexuality out is to talk with people who have similar experiences. In my opinion anyway.”

“It never hurts to get a second opinion,” Fai says before he can think better of it. He doesn’t really know what he’s getting at. All he knows is that he doesn’t want to just leave things like this, and he wants to talk to Kurogane more.

Without a word, Kurogane reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a small note pad. He pulls a pen out of his breast pocket and writes the title and author down of his suggested book. He hands the paper to Fai and says “The library closes at six and I’m usually out to my car by half past if you want that second opinion.”

Fai takes the offered page with wide eyes. He manages to shake himself out of his stupor and puts on his cheesiest grin and hopes it doesn’t look as forced as it feels. “Is that a date, Kuro-kun?”

Kurogane gives him a weird look, mouthing “Kuro-kun” silently. “You can answer that yourself afterwards,” is what he actually says and Fai thinks he’s okay with that.

\--

Kurogane will be forever thankful that Arashi is the furthest thing from nosy a human can possibly get, because she had certainly seen Kurogane talking to Fai earlier and all he has to deal with is a look that is more concern than curiosity. He waves it off and it’s the last he hears about it all day.

Unfortunately, her boyfriend Sorata is not of the same ilk. He greets the pair of them loudly, as usual, as Arashi finishes locking up and sets the alarm. “Hey, Kurogane, there’s a hot blond sitting around in the parking lot and either my honey has some news for me or he’s waiting on you.”

“Messy hair?” Arashi asks. “Looks like a stiff wind could blow him over?” Kurogane’s surprised she spoke up, and she’s not wrong. Fai’s twiggy in a way that makes Kurogane sort of want to feed him a large dinner.

Sorata snaps his fingers and grins. “That’s him,” he crows. “I didn’t know you had a sweetheart, Kurogane!”

“I don’t,” he says and, while it’s the truth, the unspoken “yet” is so obvious it’s painfully embarrassing. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

There are only three cars in the parking lot, Sorata’s, Kurogane’s, and Fai’s. Sorata’s is pulled up alongside the curb by the back door where Arashi and Kurogane leave from every day and still running. It’s an easy guess for anyone with a brain that the well loved, silver four door sedan is Kurogane’s, seeing as it’s the only option. Even so, the way Fai is fiddling with the phone in his hands speaks very clearly of nerves and he’s sure Fai’s worried about how this looks.

“Oi,” Kurogane greets and Fai smiles at him in a way that’s not totally fake. He’s nervous, but actually pleased to see Kurogane. “You hungry?”

“Starving!” Fai says and his smile gets a little wider. Kurogane’s starting to like it. “I read this whole thing and forgot to have a proper lunch,” he admits and Kurogane can see the book Fai had checked out sitting next to him on the hood of his car.

They decide on a diner that’s a few minutes away. Kurogane’s never been there but Fai says the food is great and swears by their burgers so he figures it can’t be too bad. They luck out with a booth in a back corner and Fai relaxes immensely once he’s away from the other patrons.

They make small talk at first while they order and wait for their meals. It’s easy and they move naturally from one topic to another. Fai tells Kurogane about his brother and Kurogane mentions his parents and cousin, Tomoyo. They swap stories about Caldina and her various escapades. They’re both more than half way through their meal when Fai begins to fidget and Kurogane knows what’s coming next.

“So,” he ventures, blue eyes that have no business being so pretty glued to his plate. “About that second opinion?”

“Well, you read the book, what do you think?”

Fai sighs. “I think there’s a lot more to this than I thought. But,” he continues. “I think bisexual is a good term for me.”

“Alright, that’s a good start. So, you do like guys, right?” Kurogane asks. If he sounds a little hopeful, so what? Fai is beautiful and being around him is easy and fun, even if he’s somehow gotten into the habit of calling Kurogane strange, cutesy nicknames. He wants to spend more time with him, get to know him past the pretty face and strangely attractive awkwardness.

Finally, Fai looks up at him, a small smile on his face. “I know I like you.”

The laughter that follows from Fai at Kurogane’s sudden blush is almost nice enough to hear for Kurogane not to tell Fai to shut up. Almost.

The remainder of their dinner is spent much like the beginning, both of them engaged in easy conversation. Before Kurogane knows it, though, more than an hour has past and their waitress is giving them pointed looks to pay and get lost or order more food.

They spend another hour out in the parking lot, leaning on their cars and talking like old friends under the light of a lamppost. Eventually, the time to say goodbye properly approaches. Kurogane’s stomach is turning itself in knots, twisting around like it hasn’t since he was a lanky, too tall teenager with sweaty palms and bad cologne. Somehow, though, when he speaks his voice is even and confident in all the ways he doesn’t feel.

“So, _did_ I buy a drink for a straight guy, or did I make the right call?”

Fai smiles again, takes a step closer to Kurogane and he can see how Fai is fidgeting behind his back. “Can I, um, get one more opinion before I answer that?” Kurogane nods and Fai moves closer. “Close your eyes?”

Kurogane does and even though he’s expecting it -- because what else could Fai possibly being planning to do? -- he still starts a little at the cautious press of lips against his own. Fai’s hands rest on his shoulders, unsure and nervous, and Kurogane keeps his hands at his sides while he kisses back. It’s a simple thing, gentle and chaste and new, but there are sparks and when Fai pulls back his smile is wide and his eyes are bright and Kurogane is sure he’s smiling more than he has in a long time.

“I think you made a good investment, Kuro-sama.”


	5. Prince's Beloved Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kissing is the most intimate act two people can preform. A kiss is not to be given lightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a snippet from a larger AU that Leo and I have started toying around with. Fauna are like human/animal hybrids and Kurogane is a dragon fauna.

In the world there were two types of people. Humans, who were of great numbers, and fauna, who were of lesser numbers but of great strength. Throughout the world the relationship between human and fauna varied. In some countries they lived side by side as equals, working together to better the lives of all. In some they lived separate and peaceful, doing trade, but rarely coexisting. 

There were a few countries, old countries, where fauna were seen as lesser, where their beastly characteristics were used against them to liken them to little more than animals. Some were worse than others, but to be a fauna in the old countries was to be lesser. It was a dream of many to flee, make homes with their own kind in the far away lands that tales told of, filled with promise and freedom. Others were too stubborn, holding fast to ancestral lands through the humiliation. 

A fauna could find work as a guard, their impressive strength and keener senses making them valuable to aristocratic humans. They could be trained, conditioned, and assigned. Often it was the young ones, those without families to care for them, that were taken in and trained to be the loyal guards to humans.

There was little reason for cruelty towards one’s own personal fauna, and so mistreatment was only dealt with when it was reported. No one was really sure who this helped in the long run.

\--

Kurogane’s red, forked tongue flicked out over his lips, catching the few drops of Fai’s release that had escaped his mouth. Fai’s fingers caressed the side of his face and horn, up and down in a lazy rhythm, as his panting breath slowly evened. Kurogane stayed where he was, partly because he hadn’t been ordered elsewhere, but mostly because he very much enjoyed the view. Fai was always beautiful, but undone like this, there were no words to describe him. 

“Kuro-rin,” Fai said, glancing down the length of his body to meet Kurogane’s eyes. “Kiss me.”

Everything in and out of Kurogane recoiled violently at the order. His tail lashed out behind him and he lost his balance and stumbled backwards. Fai clearly hadn’t been expecting such a reaction, which was frankly ridiculous after asking for something like a kiss. 

There was no physical act more intimate than a kiss. 

“W- _what_!?” Kurogane could feel his heart hammering and his cheeks burning as he watched Fai right himself and stand. Kurogane scrambled to his feet.

“You heard me,” Fai said cooly. 

Shaking his head Kurogane took a step back, away from Fai, who only matched him step for step until Kurogane’s back was pressed against the wall. “You don’t mean that F- sire.” Fai hadn’t given him permission to use his name, and besides it was best to keep what distance between them he could at the moment, as his prince seemed to have completely lost his mind.

For one, glorious moment annoyance flashed across Fai’s expression, dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful, before it was reigned in and controlled. There was a heat there, in Fai’s eyes. It smoldered in the clear blue, darkened them with want.

Kurogane had been Fai’s for years, he’d learned all there was to know about the prince, he protected him and been protected by him. They were more than merely prince and servant, more than a guard and his charge. He hadn’t thought they were enough to warrant a kiss, the first for both of them in their lives. Kurogane loved Fai with all that he was, but…

“I see the way you look at me, Kuro-sama,” Fai said, pressed Kurogane into the wall. “You’re so observant, I would have thought you’d have noticed how I look at you. I haven’t bothered to try hiding it.”

He had seen. He knew the ways Fai’s eyes roamed over his body, the way his touch lingered, how Fai refused to let others speak ill of him. Kurogane knew the way Fai took him, slow and deep, he knew the words Fai spoke in the dark between only then, sweet promises that never saw the light of day. He knew, but he hadn’t dared believe Fai would be so bold as to try and make something of it. 

He hadn’t dared dream.

“I want you,” Fai continued when Kurogane failed to speak up. “I _love_ you. Do you want to kiss me?”

“I could be beheaded for this,” Kurogane argued. It was a useless one, no one in the castle, save for Fai himself, had any hope of besting Kurogane in battle. Kurogane would not lose his head if he didn’t wish to.

“As if I’d let that happen.” Also an important factor in Kurogane’s head staying attached to the rest of him.

“They’d take the throne from you for kissing a fauna,” he tried. Surely Fai hadn’t considered that before asking him for a kiss.

Fai rolled his eyes, his patience clearly wearing thin. “They can have it if they want it, it’s the least of my concerns.”

“Sire, listen to yourself-”

“I asked you a question,” Fai snapped, his voice nothing but command. “Answer me.”

“Yes.” The word was out almost before Fai had finished speaking. “Yes. I want to kiss you.”

Fai smiled at him, his entire expression softening into something that couldn’t have been anything but love. His hand came up around the back of his neck, fingers playing with the short hairs there. Kurogane’s heart had not stopped hammering in his chest and his stomach was twisting itself in all sorts of knots. 

Nothing was a intimate, as weighted, as this. Fai had been inside of him, he’d been inside of Fai. They had bedded each other more times than they could count over the years, but not once had they kissed any part of each other. It was not something you did unless you were truly devoted to one another.

“Fai…” he supposed if he were dedicated to anyone, it was Fai.

“Do as you’re told,” was all Fai had to say to have Kurogane slowly lowering his lips to Fai’s. 

Their lips pressed against one another, soft and warm, and it sent a thrill up Kurogane’s spine. He could taste the wine Fai had drank not too long ago. Fai licked his way into Kurogane’s mouth and Kurogane’s tail came up to wrap around Fai’s thigh and waist and hold him close. He could feel Fai smiling into their kiss, pleased by Kurogane’s natural possessiveness. 

Fai’s arms came up around Kurogane’s neck as the two of them pressed their bodies as closely together as they could. He never wanted to stop. His lungs were beginning to burn with the need for air and he could feel Fai hard once more against his leg, but the feel of their tongue moving together was too good. Kurogane could happily die like this if it came down to it.

His prince had other plans, though. Fai pulled away, panting and flushed and _smiling_. He was stunning. “I love you.” It slipped from Kurogane’s mouth before he could stop it. It was no secret, but he’d never said it before, not out loud, not so plainly.

Fai’s smile only widened and within a second he was back to kissing Kurogane, who swore he could taste the joy between them. It tasted like red wine and Fai.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea how often I'll be updating this so just keep checking in I guess.


End file.
